Review
... a thoughtful and eminently readable volume. ... Meinander gives readers an opportunity to look back in an unusually nuanced and informed manner. --Andrew Newby, English Historical Review
An excellent counterpoint to David Kirby s A Concise History of Finland, this volume goes well beyond the chiefly political analysis that informs Kirby s survey and includes substantial information on literary, philosophical, musical, linguistic, pedagogical and general cultural topics, providing a deeper and more nuanced overview of the Finns from prehistoric times to the present. Concentrating on the early modern period to the present, the author gives outstanding summaries of the events and issues during the Swedish and Russian dominions and provides an excellent account of the postindependence decades. Meinander supplies an evenhanded, thoughtful analysis of the civil war and its aftermath, leading into a frank, insightful review of the Winter War, the Continuation War, and the Lapland War, which brought WWII to an end in Finland. He also advances convincing arguments for Finland s Cold War foreign policy and for its postwar economic successes, including its integration into the European Union and its cooperation with NATO. Written in a clear, concise style, the book contains numerous high-quality illustrations as well as a valuable if brief bibliography. If a library can have only one book on modern Finnish history, this is the one. --CHOICE, Outstanding Academic Title
A History of Finland is an extraordinarily readable and well-balanced book. Meinander s clarity of vision has placed Finland in a Nordic and European perspective as well as skilfully weaving political, economic and cultural developments into an integral whole. --Lennart Berntson, Svenska Dagbladet, Stockholm
About the Author
Henrik Meinander is Professor of History at the University of Helsinki and the author of many acclaimed books on Finnish and Nordic history. He was formerly curator of the Mannerheim Museum in Helsinki and head of the Finnish Institute in Stockholm.